The University of Sydney - Research Supervisor Connect

About Dr Yue-kun Ju

I was always fascinated by scientific discoveries, and wish that I could make one.

Dr Yue-kun Ju is a senior research fellow of Muscle Cell Function Laboratory. Her current research interests include TRPC gene expression and store -operated Ca2+ channels activity in mammalian sino-atrial node and their possible involvement in cardiac arrhythmia.

In the past 10 years, Dr. Ju has established a research reputation in cardiac electrophysiology with a number of important contributions. During her PhD under Prof. Peter Gage at John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University,  she identified a novel Na+ channel in cardiac myocytes.  It is now widely accepted that this persistent Na+ current plays an important role in ischaemic and hypoxic damage of heart and brain.After she moved to Professor Allen’s Laboratory in University of Sydney in 1996, she began to develop her own research interest studying the role intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) and the Na-Ca2+ exchanger in cardiac pacemaker cells.  She developed a technically-challenging approach in which electrophysiologic properties and [Ca2+]i were simultaneously measured in single isolated pacemaker cells.  This work is leading to a substantial shift in the understanding of pacemaker function in which firing rate appears to be closely influenced by intracellular calcium. A new breaking through research on TRPCs gene and store –operated Ca2+ in mouse sino-atrial node has been accepted to be published in Circulation Research very recently. She has also demonstrated the ability to conduct research collaborations, both nationally and internationally, with scientists from different disciplines.  In recent years, she acted as an expert reviewer for a number of international journals, including Journal of Physiology, and Circulation Research, and NHMRC grant review assessors.  As a co-chief investigator and principal investigator, she has a proven successful track record of attracting research funding from NH&MRC and National Heart Foundation.

Selected publications